Emich Carl, Prince of Leiningen


Emich Carl, Prince of Leiningen was the reigning Fürst of the Principality of Leiningen. After his death, his widow, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, married Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, fourth son of George III of the United Kingdom, and her only child from that marriage was Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom.

Biography

Background

Emich Carl was born at Dürckheim, the fourth child and only son of Karl Friedrich Wilhelm, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg and his wife Countess Christiane Wilhelmine Luise of Solms-Rödelheim und Assenheim. On 3 July 1779, his father was made a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and Emich Carl became Hereditary Prince of Leiningen. On 9 January 1807, he succeeded his father as second Prince of Leiningen.

Marriages and issue

Emich Carl was married firstly, on 1787, to Countess Henriette Sophie of Reuss-Ebersdorf, youngest daughter of Heinrich XXIV, Count of Reuss-Ebersdorf and his wife, Countess Karoline Ernestine of Erbach-Schönberg. Henriette died on 3 September 1801. Emich Carl and Henrietta had one son, who died young and within the lifetime of his mother, being:
On 21 December 1803, two years after the death of his first wife, Emich married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, fourth daughter of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld by his wife, Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf. His second wife was a niece of his late wife. They had two further children:

Death and succession

Emich Carl died at Amorbach on 1814, and was succeeded by their only surviving son, Carl Friedrich.

Post-mortem connections

Four years after his death, his widow married Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, fourth son of King George III of the United Kingdom. They had a daughter, Princess Victoria of Kent, who would later become Queen regnant of the United Kingdom.